Bertucci A-5S Ballista Field Watch with Swiss Micro Tube Illumination #13551

I have had, and continue to have, nothing but problems with this particular Bertucci model.

First, and foremost, the time keeping accuracy is just awful for Swiss quartz watch. When I first bought this watch, there was clearly a defect as it would gain somewhere between a minute to an hour per day. I contacted Bertucci and received a replacement. While the replacement is much better, it still gains significant time. What is significant? Roughly 5 – 10 seconds a day. For a quartz, this is astoundingly poor accuracy. Over the course of a month, without constant resetting, the time will be way off. Not sure what the problem is. Perhaps it is just this particular quartz mechanism? I have a $20 Timex’s sitting in my desk drawer that I haven’t touched in a year that is still ticking away and, as of the writing of this review, within 30 seconds of the U.S. Standard Atomic Clock when I first set it. There is absolutely no way this nearly $400 watch will EVER come close to that. I think if I left in the drawer for a year it would be off by hours.

Secondly, the minute hand is wobbly and misses the mark. On the 12-6 end, it overshoots significantly. On the 6-12 end, it just undershoots the mark. Again, this is a ridiculous problem to have. The minute hand should not be so loose but, at this point, I have no faith that Bertucci has any solutions. Frankly, the quality control at Bertucci seems poor (their service and responsiveness however, is top notch).

Third, for a watch that claims to be a rugged field watch, this watch is quite fragile. Whatever is going on inside is clearly exacerbated by movement. The gains of time I described above nearly doubles if I am doing any type of outdoor activity — running, hiking, etc.

And, the kicker, this watch was initially a gift for my father. After I obtained the replacement for him, he still returned it to me, citing its complete unreliability! Instead, he continues to wear the solar Citizen field watch … which this watch was intended to replace (since the Citizen was quite beat up).

Also, please note that this review should in no way reflect upon Marc, whose attentiveness and customer services throughout has been nothing short of spectacular. I do not blame Island Watch in the slightest, I just think that Bertucci is cutting corners behind the scenes and manufacturing lemons. I cannot speak for any of their other models and, quite frankly, I do not think I will ever be able to do so since this watch has quite definitively put me off on the entire brand. If this is their higher end model, how bad are the lower end models? Anyway, take it with a grain of salt. Just my two cents.